Rich Lore Grew Out Of Prairie

February 13, 1985|By Barbara Dillard.

Growing out of two prairie settlements along Indian trails, embracing the coming of the railroad and settling in as a Chicago commuter village, facing the Depression and world war with a close-knit community spirit and meeting the challenges of the future with determination: These are the components of Villa Park`s rich existence.

In the early 1800s, Villa Park was a prairie with Potawatomi Indian trails crisscrossing the area. After the Indian treaties of 1835 and 1837 forced most of the Indians out of the area, German families from New York, looking for good farmland, quickly settled in the area and named the township York as a tribute to their roots, according to Irene Martin, a noted local historian and 33-year resident of the village.

At the close of the century the area was still sparsely settled farmland, but the coming of the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railway, as it was then called, a double-track electric railroad, was soon to change all that.

Chicago real estate developers Ballard and Pottinger spotted the open land and began building subdivisions, one called Villa Park, east of Summit Avenue, which was recorded in 1908, and another called Ardmore, west of Summit Avenue, recorded in 1910, Martin said.

Both subdivisions were advertised to wealthy Chicago families as the perfect place for ``country living,`` and developers enticed potential buyers with free Sunday train trips to the subdivisions from Chicago and for those who bought acre lots, their choice of ``200 baby chicks or 20 apple trees.``

Many large, lovely homes were built, such as the 21-room mansion of Charles C. Heisen, on Villa Avenue, that he built for his second wife, a New York actress.

However, the new Mrs. Heisen took one look at the muddy village and returned to New York, never to be seen again. Heisen, the wealthiest man in Villa Park, stayed in the village and built many homes; constructed the first church, which he donated to the congregation; and owned the first water system in town, Martin said.

An intense rivalry developed between the two subdivisions, but to acquire tax money for community improvements they united and incorporated as the Village of Ardmore on Aug. 8, 1914. Immediately the residents of the old Villa Park section began complaining about the name, and a vote was taken in 1917 to change the name to Villa Park, leaving many residents disgruntled in the west side of the village.

The election was noteworthy because, before the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote, 63 women cast ballots in the election to change the village`s name. Marie Lueck ran for police magistrate in the first village election, but she lost.

Jeanette Bates was appointed the first village attorney. She left the next year, when she was appointed the first assistant attorney general in Illinois and the first woman in an attorney general`s office in the U.S., according to early village records. Blanche McGuire became the village`s first postmistress in 1917.

That same year Villa Park saw the construction of its first industry and one that would play an important part in the history of the village. Gotlieb Steiner had been sent from Bern, Switzerland, in 1915 to find a location for the American factory of the Wander Co., the maker of Ovaltine, a fortified milk product. Villa Park was his choice.

As Ovaltine carried on radio promotions for Little Orphan Annie premiums and later Captain Midnight television commercial premiums, people all over the country would send their requests to Villa Park, and the post office had to be enlarged to meet the demand from all the Ovaltine customers, Martin said.

The 1920s saw a building boom in Villa Park, and its population doubled between 1920 and 1925. New homes were going up rapidly with electricity supplied by the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago generators in Lombard, and Villa Park was acknowledged as the railroad`s largest commuting customer, she said.

Four new elementary schools were built, and York High School was opened for Elmhurst and Villa Park students in 1924. New churches were built, a volunteer fire department was organized by the Lions Club, a Chicago & North Western railroad passenger station was opened, a new village hall was built, the paving of Ardmore, Highland and Villa Avenues was completed and many civic groups were founded.

One day Charles Lindbergh, then flying the mail, was forced to land his plane on a farm field in town. Grounded for three days, the plane provided an exciting sight for the village`s residents, according to published recollections of Russell Lantz.

During Prohibition one of Villa Park`s speak-easies served a popular drink of grapefuit juice and gin known as the Morning Glory. Other residents quietly went to Ovaltine and purchased malt for their home brew.